Eternal Sunshine

NASA

"I don't know, Mr. Musk. That doesn't seem possible."

If Elon heard that one more time he was going to take this moron's head off. Of course it's not possible now. You make it possible. Technology doesn't magically improve, you work at it. It was the same stupid argument that he had heard his entire life; for Tesla, for SpaceX, for everything. Why couldn't anyone else see it? With more research, design, testing, and funding you can create things that didn't seem possible.

This moron was too timid to think outside the box. What the hell was he doing working at NASA? Stupid government moron was protected by layers of stupid bureaucracy and probably could shoot himself in the dick and still not get fired from the stupid government. If he worked at SpaceX, Elon would have fired him. Well, yelled at him a lot, and then fired him. Dickless moron.

Elon's phone pinged and he barely suppressed his rage as he stepped away. Saved by the bell, you stupid government moron. Probably best that he not bite moron's head off, though. This government contract was important, as was the funding. Elon had fucked up quite a few ventures due to his sharp tongue.

Elon's SpaceX team swarmed to fill his place as he walked away to check his phone. Probably better this way. They were an excellent team. He trusted them. And they definitely handled stupid people better than he did. They could keep their outrage in check, stay professional. They could also dumb down the plan so even a member of the government could understand. Elon could keep his cool around lay people but supposed experts were not given the same courtesy. Especially ones that told him no. Fuck that.

Elon glanced down at his phone and involuntarily smiled. Like a wave of water washing gritty sand away, she made him feel refreshed. Ariana sent him an adorable picture of herself with a message:

<You don't have a photo of me to put in your contact info. I have rectified this grievous error so now I can show up appropriately.>

<You can't even begin to imagine the pain you just saved me from. In so many ways. And yes, a most egregious error. Although, sending me pictures is a sure fire way to distract me from my work.>

<Doesn't sound like a bad thing to me.>

<Certainly this time it was not. You are a most delightful distraction.>

<Is that all I am?>

<Isn't that all you want to be? I'd like more, but the ball is in your court.>

<Do I get both of them?>

Elon nearly burst out laughing, which would have truly been confusing to any potential onlookers after his near explosion of anger earlier.

<I won't lie to you. I'm at your mercy.>

<I'll try to be gentle.>

<No need. I can take pain.>

In his head, Elon was thinking about the pain of building and running a company, but reading it back he didn't think she would get the same impression. Oh well, both worked. Well, kind of. He actually did not want any painful anything done to his balls, but he doubted she would take him literally.

As he waited for a reply, he started to second guess himself. Maybe he had taken things a little too far. Flirting was treacherous to begin with, and flirting through texts was like walking through a minefield. He hoped he didn't just explode on that last one. But then she sent him another picture.

Oh.

Oh fuck.

That was not what Elon had been expecting. Although to be fair, he would never claim to be an expert on human behavior. His brain simply didn't function like others. All too often he had floundered his way through the various pitfalls of other people's emotions only to find that he was doomed from the start. But there were very few ways of interpreting this image.